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Latest news and features from theguardian.com, the world's leading liberal voiceen-gbGuardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. 2015Tue, 03 Mar 2015 20:21:41 GMT2015-03-03T20:21:41Zen-gbGuardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. 2015The Guardianhttp://assets.guim.co.uk/images/guardian-logo-rss.c45beb1bafa34b347ac333af2e6fe23f.pnghttp://www.theguardian.com
Stoned rabbits are the anti-marijuana movement's weakest ploy yethttp://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/mar/03/marijuana-stoned-rabbits-utah-weakest-ploy-yet-legal-weed
<p>With mounting research debunking weed myths and extensive public support for medical marijuana, prohibitionists have officially run out of ideas</p><p>There have been many half-baked arguments made in favor of cannabis prohibition, but the one made by a Utah DEA agent in a recent hearing on medical marijuana has to be one of the strangest (and most Steinbeckian): <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2015/03/02/dea-warns-of-stoned-rabbits-if-utah-passes-medical-marijuana/">w</a><a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2015/03/02/dea-warns-of-stoned-rabbits-if-utah-passes-medical-marijuana/">hat about the rabbits</a>?</p><p> “I deal in facts. I deal in science,” agent Matt Fairbanks said, as he presented his anecdotal evidence about pothead bunnies while somehow managing to keep a straight face.</p><p>There are 100,000 total marijuana smokers in the US, and most are Negroes, Hispanics, Filipinos and entertainers. Their Satanic music, jazz and swing result from marijuana use. This marijuana causes white women to seek sexual relations with Negroes, entertainers and any others.” </p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/mar/03/marijuana-stoned-rabbits-utah-weakest-ploy-yet-legal-weed">Continue reading...</a>CannabisDrugs policyDrugsAnimal welfareAnimalsUtahTue, 03 Mar 2015 20:16:30 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/mar/03/marijuana-stoned-rabbits-utah-weakest-ploy-yet-legal-weedPhotograph: David DeHetre/<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/davedehetre/4949194554">Flickr</a>Bunnies love grass.Photograph: David DeHetre/<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/davedehetre/4949194554">Flickr</a>Bunnies love grass.Ngaio Bealum2015-03-03T20:16:30ZThe Guardian view on child sex abuse: right questions, wrong answers | Editorialhttp://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/mar/03/guardian-view-on-child-sex-abuse
The Oxfordshire report is a shocking indictment, but politicians will protect children best by acting smart, not talking tough<p>“Never again” is an easy pledge to make; but one that is extremely hard to fulfil. On Tuesday <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/society/2015/mar/03/david-cameron-child-abuse-ignore-jail" title="">David Cameron pledged</a> that the sexual abuse of children in Britain “stops here, ... doesn’t happen again and we recognise abuse for what it is”. Everyone must hope that the prime minister is right on all counts. But the fear that the problem’s surface has barely been scratched, and certainly not fully understood, not just in Britain but elsewhere in the world, remains very strong. Mr Cameron’s sincerity is not in doubt. The credibility of his pledge, especially at election time, undoubtedly is.</p><p>Tuesday’s <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/society/2015/mar/03/professionals-blamed-oxfordshire-girls-for-their-sexual-abuse-report-finds" title="">serious case review report</a> into the abuse of children in Oxfordshire underlines both the deep-seated character of the problem and the peril of pretending that modern states now possess the right mix of measures to bring the problem of child sex abuse under control. The review, set up after seven men were jailed in 2013 for abusing six girls, concludes that as many as 373 children may have been targeted for sex by gangs of men in Oxfordshire in the past 16 years. This was, as Mr Cameron put it on Tuesday, abuse on an industrial scale, involving both girls and boys alike. It is shocking in every way, and rightly so. The hard issue is to decide what follows from the shocking revelations.</p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/mar/03/guardian-view-on-child-sex-abuse">Continue reading...</a>Child protectionChildrenSocial careSocietyDavid CameronPoliticsPublic services policyTue, 03 Mar 2015 19:49:52 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/mar/03/guardian-view-on-child-sex-abusePhotograph: Alamy'As many as 373 children may have been targeted for sex by gangs of men in Oxfordshire in the past 16 years. This was, as Mr Cameron put it, abuse on an industrial scale.' Photograph: AlamyPhotograph: Alamy'As many as 373 children may have been targeted for sex by gangs of men in Oxfordshire in the past 16 years. This was, as Mr Cameron put it, abuse on an industrial scale.' Photograph: AlamyEditorial2015-03-03T19:49:52ZThe Guardian view on Simon Rattle’s return to Britain: striking a chord | Editorialhttp://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/mar/03/guardian-view-on-simon-rattle-return-to-britain
The London Symphony Orchestra has made an important choice for the arts in general, not just for music<p>Most decisions in life require a trade-off between the pros and the cons. Just occasionally, however, a decision comes along that involves only pros. <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/music/2015/mar/03/simon-rattle-appointed-music-director-london-symphony-orchestra" title="">Simon Rattle’s appointment</a> as chief conductor of the London Symphony Orchestra is one of the latter. It is the best possible piece of news that music-making of all kinds in this country could have had. Though much-trailed and hardly a secret – the appointment was already almost taken for granted during the conductor’s recent concerts in London with the Berliner Philharmoniker – it promises to be a defining moment for the arts in general and for music-making, education and training in particular.</p><p>When he lands in London from Berlin in 2017 to take up his post, Sir Simon will instantly become Britain’s Sir Classical Music, the public embodiment of his art form in this country, rather as Benjamin Britten was in the 1950s and 60s or Sir Thomas Beecham before him. Many would argue that Sir Simon already got that title long ago, during his many golden years in Birmingham before the starry move to Berlin.</p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/mar/03/guardian-view-on-simon-rattle-return-to-britain">Continue reading...</a>Simon RattleClassical musicCultureMusicLondon Symphony OrchestraBerlin PhilharmonicTue, 03 Mar 2015 19:32:20 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/mar/03/guardian-view-on-simon-rattle-return-to-britainPhotograph: Chris Christodoulou/BBC/PA'When he lands in London from Berlin in 2017 to take up his post, Sir Simon will instantly become Britain’s Sir Classical Music, the public embodiment of his art form in this country, rather as Benjamin Britten was in the 1950s and 60s or Sir Thomas Beecham before him.' Photograph: Chris Christodoulou/BBC/PAPhotograph: Chris Christodoulou/BBC/PA'When he lands in London from Berlin in 2017 to take up his post, Sir Simon will instantly become Britain’s Sir Classical Music, the public embodiment of his art form in this country, rather as Benjamin Britten was in the 1950s and 60s or Sir Thomas Beecham before him.' Photograph: Chris Christodoulou/BBC/PAEditorial2015-03-03T19:32:20ZIs stealing from a small shop worse than from a chain? | Clare Carlislehttp://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/mar/03/stealing-small-shop-chain-david-lammy-moral-philosophy
David Lammy has raised interesting questions on how we judge a crime like theft. Moral absolutism and monetary value are more compatible than you think<p>Is it better to steal from a large chainstore than from a small independent shop? This is one of the questions raised in a new <a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/david-lammy-police-turning-blind-eye-to-property-crime-10081185.html" title="">report on property crime compiled by David Lammy</a>, Labour MP for Tottenham. Lammy suggests that judgments about the seriousness of shoplifting should take into account the theft’s impact on its victim. His report argues that, “the impact of a &pound;200 theft to a large retailer is much smaller than it would be to an independent retailer.”</p><p>Lammy’s report emphasises the severity of property crime, highlighting research by the Policy Exchange thinktank which found that half of burglary victims do not hear back from police after reporting the crime.</p><p> <span>Related: </span><a href="http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2014/apr/25/shoplifting-increase-overall-crime-figures-fall-england-wales">Shoplifting on the increase as overall crime figures fall</a> </p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/mar/03/stealing-small-shop-chain-david-lammy-moral-philosophy">Continue reading...</a>CrimeUK newsDavid LammyPoliticsPhilosophyTue, 03 Mar 2015 18:56:49 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/mar/03/stealing-small-shop-chain-david-lammy-moral-philosophyPhotograph: Bloomberg/Bloomberg via Getty Images‘It is surely more appropriate to describe £200 as a “low value” for a larger supermarket than for a little corner shop..’ Photograph: Bloomberg via Getty ImagesPhotograph: Bloomberg/Bloomberg via Getty Images‘It is surely more appropriate to describe £200 as a “low value” for a larger supermarket than for a little corner shop..’ Photograph: Bloomberg via Getty ImagesClare Carlisle2015-03-03T18:56:49ZIs Isis the ultimate evil? They would love you to think so | Owen Joneshttp://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/mar/03/isis-evil-jihadis-west
Presenting Isis as iconic demons obscures the symbiotic relationship between jihadis and the west<p>Something about the term “barrel bomb” fails to convey the horror of the weapon. Perhaps it is the alliteration, which has a kind of playful quality; maybe it’s because we associate barrels with beer and wine. But barrel bombs are the source of unimaginable horror and cruelty. As well as explosives, they often contain shrapnel to maximise the human carnage. Dropped from helicopters at heights that make precision targeting impossible, they are employed by the Bashar al-Assad regime, our de facto allies – let’s stop pretending otherwise – and until recently, <a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/islamic-state-iraqi-governments-illegal-barrel-bombing-of-civilian-areas-to-be-stopped-9731317.html" title="">by the Iraqi government too</a>. In just a year, barrel bombs <a href="http://www.hrw.org/news/2015/02/24/syria-new-spate-barrel-bomb-attacks" title="">killed more than 6,000 civilians in Syria</a>, nearly a third of whom were children.</p><p>But the Assad regime does not flaunt its cruelty. It does not make videos with Hollywood effects – slo-mo, closeups, haunting music, the aftermath in high definition. Instead, it adopts the same regretful tone of western powers, like when the <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/2005/nov/16/iraq.usa" title="">US dropped flesh-burning white phosphorus over Falluja</a>. We regret any civilian casualties (or “collateral damage”, as the west prefers). We do not target civilians, unlike our opponents – and so on. The scale of death may be far greater, but the claimed intentions are different: unlike our opponents, we do not aim to kill civilians, they say, so we retain our moral superiority. Above all, the Assad regime&nbsp;does not execute white westerners and film it. Islamic State (Isis) is now the iconic demon, the stuff of nightmares – which is exactly what it wants, of course.</p><p>If we can provide context for the rise of Nazism, why not elsewhere?</p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/mar/03/isis-evil-jihadis-west">Continue reading...</a>Islamic State (Isis)World newsSyriaMiddle East and North AfricaMohammed EmwaziUK newsArab and Middle East unrestPoliticsTue, 03 Mar 2015 18:47:55 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/mar/03/isis-evil-jihadis-westPhotograph: Medyan Dairieh/Zuma Press/Corbis'It is now the fashion to grant Isis a unique evil, a nightmarish mystique that bolsters their reputation and helps win recruits.' Photograph: Medyan Dairieh/Zuma Press/CorbisPhotograph: Medyan Dairieh/Zuma Press/Corbis'It is now the fashion to grant Isis a unique evil, a nightmarish mystique that bolsters their reputation and helps win recruits.' Photograph: Medyan Dairieh/Zuma Press/CorbisOwen Jones2015-03-03T18:47:55ZIgnore the ‘pro-business’ rhetoric: a pro-rich government is anti-business | Ha-Joon Changhttp://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/mar/03/pro-business-tax-avoidance-market-rigging
No party can claim to be ‘pro-business’ if it is soft on tax avoiders and market fixers – that only hurts other businesses<p>Despite the best efforts of some of its members to discredit it with market rigging, tax avoidance, and unjustified bonuses, the business community is still held in awe in Britain. Any suggestion of higher taxes for top earners or tougher regulations on the abuse of market power is howled down as dangerously <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2015/feb/06/labour-mansion-tax-50p-rate-fairer-society-anti-business" title="">anti-business</a>. Politicians who are serious about the nation’s prosperity and its citizens’ welfare, it is accepted, need to be “pro-business”.</p><p>But what does it mean to be <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2015/feb/08/labour-aggressively-pro-business-tristram-hunt" title="">pro-business</a>? First, we should not confuse a pro-business stance with a pro-rich stance. Not all rich people are business people, or “wealth creators”, as they are often called these days. Some of them have simply inherited vast sums of money, while others have created wealth elsewhere and are simply enjoying their lives in the UK.</p><p> <span>Related: </span><a href="http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2015/feb/15/tory-conservative-party-donor-funding">Tax avoiders and hedge funds. The Tories invited them to the party …</a> </p><p>We have allowed the idle rich to parade as wealth-creating, rule-breaking business people for far too long</p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/mar/03/pro-business-tax-avoidance-market-rigging">Continue reading...</a>BusinessEconomic policyPoliticsConservativesTax avoidanceCorporate governanceExecutive pay and bonusesUK newsSocietyTue, 03 Mar 2015 17:16:48 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/mar/03/pro-business-tax-avoidance-market-riggingPhotograph: /Guardian'Under the influence of the pro-business rhetoric, we have often come to forget that the government has interests other than business to look after.' Illustration by Andrzej KrauzePhotograph: /Guardian'Under the influence of the pro-business rhetoric, we have often come to forget that the government has interests other than business to look after.' Illustration by Andrzej KrauzeHa-Joon Chang2015-03-03T17:16:48ZLeonard Nimoy’s photographs of fat, naked women changed my lifehttp://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/commentisfree/2015/mar/03/leonard-nimoy-full-body-project
<p>The late actor’s Full Body Project was bold and radical. It was the first time I’d seen women like me presented as objects of beauty instead of punchlines</p><p>I didn’t realise it until after he died – for whatever reason, I’d just never done the mental arithmetic – but Leonard Nimoy is responsible for the single most transformative moment of my life. In a very tangible way, Leonard Nimoy saved me.</p><p>Of course, I have all the standard emotional attachments to the man as an actor and cultural icon: I grew up on Star Trek reruns and the ensuing films (when you’re done here, please sign my Change.org petition to get my fiance to wear <a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Star-Trek-Voyage-Spock-Costume/dp/B00P7HW9NC">Spock’s Voyage Home wizard bathrobe</a> at our wedding); I used to watch <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AGF5ROpjRAU">The Ballad of Bilbo Baggins</a> about 7,000 times every weekend, before I had to quit smoking pot because I convinced myself that I could “walk backwards through time”; and, in all seriousness, as a human being who believes in things – in love and humanity and the thrill of consciousness – it’s impossible not to be awestruck at the existence of such a principled, kind, talented, ravenously curious polymath.</p><p> <span>Related: </span><a href="http://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/gallery/2015/mar/03/the-full-body-project-by-leonard-nimoy-in-pictures">The Full Body Project by Leonard Nimoy – in pictures</a> </p><p>I asked them to be proud, which was a condition they took to easily, quite naturally. Having completed the compositions that were initially planned, I then asked them to play some music that they had brought with them, and they quickly responded to the rhythms, dancing in a free-form circular movement in the space ... In these pictures, these women are proudly wearing their own skin. They respect themselves and I hope that my images convey that to others<br /></p><p> <span>Related: </span><a href="http://www.theguardian.com/film/2015/mar/03/zachary-quinto-leonard-nimoy-was-like-a-father-to-me">Zachary Quinto: Leonard Nimoy was like a father to me</a> </p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/commentisfree/2015/mar/03/leonard-nimoy-full-body-project">Continue reading...</a>Body imageArt and designPhotographyLeonard NimoyCultureSocietyHealth & wellbeingHealthLife and styleTue, 03 Mar 2015 17:14:25 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/commentisfree/2015/mar/03/leonard-nimoy-full-body-projectPhotograph: Leonard Nimoy/ Image courtesy of R.Michelson GalleriesThe Full Body Project by Leonard Nimoy. Photograph: Leonard Nimoy/ Image courtesy of R.Michelson GalleriesPhotograph: Leonard Nimoy/ Image courtesy of R.Michelson GalleriesThe Full Body Project by Leonard Nimoy. Photograph: Leonard Nimoy/ Image courtesy of R.Michelson GalleriesLindy West2015-03-03T17:14:25ZHow did Bobby Davro think his racist jokes at a Tottenham-Chelsea game were OK? | Dara Mohammadihttp://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/mar/03/bobby-davro-racist-jokes-tottenham-chelsea-game-wembley
The comedian was comfortable as he delivered racial and discrimatory slurs at an official event before the game at Wembley. I wasn’t<p>“He’s one of our own, he’s one of our own, Harry Kane, he’s one of our own.” There’s something beautiful about that chant sung by Tottenham fans for Kane, our home-grown striker. It gives a real sense of unity – a connection between the stands and the pitch, and a feeling that everyone in that stadium belongs. It’s why I made my way to Wembley on Sunday to watch Tottenham – my team – take on Chelsea in the <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/football/2015/mar/01/chelsea-tottenham-capital-one-cup-final-match-report" title="">Capital One Cup final</a>.</p><p>But when I arrived at an official pre-match Spurs supporters’ event, I was met by a different type of feeling. It was a feeling that told me I didn’t belong. Hanging over the balcony in a function room in nearby Wembley Arena, microphone in hand, was television’s Bobby Davro. He’d been hired to host the event, and chose the venue to deliver a routine of largely racist and discriminatory jokes.</p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/mar/03/bobby-davro-racist-jokes-tottenham-chelsea-game-wembley">Continue reading...</a>FootballRace issuesSportKick It OutChelseaTottenham HotspurTue, 03 Mar 2015 17:13:01 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/mar/03/bobby-davro-racist-jokes-tottenham-chelsea-game-wembleyPhotograph: Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images‘Bobby Davro’s jokes included the same lazy, racial and cultural stereotypes that we’ve all come to know.’ Photograph: Gareth Cattermole/Getty ImagesPhotograph: Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images‘Bobby Davro’s jokes included the same lazy, racial and cultural stereotypes that we’ve all come to know.’ Photograph: Gareth Cattermole/Getty ImagesDara Mohammadi2015-03-03T17:13:01ZLocking up immigrants diminishes us all | Diane Taylorhttp://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/mar/03/locking-up-asylum-seekers-channel-4-yarls-wood-immigration-centre
The latest horrors exposed by Channel 4 at Yarl’s Wood immigration centre must spark wholesale change. Tinkering and business as usual is not acceptable<p>There was a lot of noise at Yarl’s Wood immigration removal centre in Bedfordshire on Monday evening as female detainees watched the <a href="http://www.channel4.com/news/yarls-wood-immigration-removal-detention-centre-investigation" title="">Channel 4 News undercover investigation</a> into conditions there. I contacted women at the centre just after the report was broadcast and could hear shouting and crying on the wing. The women expressed horror at the revelations, but at the same time joy that the attitudes of some staff had been exposed. In the footage, detainees were referred to as “black bitches”, “beasties” and “caged animals”. The investigation also found numerous incidents of self-harm and questionable standards of healthcare, including for pregnant women.</p><p>The detention centre, which has been controversial since it opened in 2001, is run by the private contractor Serco, which has suspended one member of staff in the wake of the revelations and is launching an independent review, saying: “We will not tolerate poor conduct or disrespect and will take disciplinary action wherever appropriate.” The Home Office has also ordered an investigation into the issues raised in the Channel 4 report.</p><p>Last year, 30,000 people were held in 11 immigration removal centres. Many had committed no crime</p><p> <span>Related: </span><a href="http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2015/jan/14/detention-female-asylum-seekers">Conference makes case for ending detention of female asylum seekers</a> </p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/mar/03/locking-up-asylum-seekers-channel-4-yarls-wood-immigration-centre">Continue reading...</a>Immigration and asylumUK newsPoliticsSocietyChannel 4Television industryMediaSercoBusinessTue, 03 Mar 2015 16:55:45 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/mar/03/locking-up-asylum-seekers-channel-4-yarls-wood-immigration-centrePhotograph: Bryn Lennon/Getty ImagesYarl's Wood immigration removal centre. 'Over the last decade, evidence from a variety of independent sources about the dangers of immigration detention in its current form have mounted.' Photograph: Bryn Lennon/GettyPhotograph: Bryn Lennon/Getty ImagesYarl's Wood immigration removal centre. 'Over the last decade, evidence from a variety of independent sources about the dangers of immigration detention in its current form have mounted.' Photograph: Bryn Lennon/GettyDiane Taylor2015-03-03T16:55:45ZLet’s sell off Westminster and send our MPs out to roam the land | Stephen Mosshttp://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/mar/03/sell-westminster-mps-billions-palace-parliament
Rather than spending billions trying to restore the mock-Gothic palace, why not flog it as a luxury hotel, eject most of its occupants and have a peripatetic parliament<p>I confess I have not detected much wailing and gnashing of teeth at the news that the palace of Westminster, home of the Lords and Commons, is <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2015/mar/02/john-bercow-westminster-renovation-parliament-leave" title="">falling down</a>, and will slide into the Thames in a decade or two unless what speaker John Bercow calls the “not inconsequential” sum of &pound;3bn is spent tarting it up. Let it slide seems to be the general view, preferably with most of its present occupants in it.</p><p>When the old palace burned down in 1834, its mock-Gothic replacement – the style was chosen as a consciously reactionary throwback to the Middle Ages – took 30 years to build. The original estimate for construction was well under a million quid. It came in at double that, and no doubt Bercow’s &pound;3bn will in the end be &pound;6bn and rising. Not inconsequential? In fact, far too much. <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/society/shortcuts/2015/mar/02/two-bed-flat-rent-riverside-views-rent-the-houses-of-parliament" title="">Forget it</a>.</p><p> <span>Related: </span><a href="http://www.theguardian.com/society/shortcuts/2015/mar/02/two-bed-flat-rent-riverside-views-rent-the-houses-of-parliament">Two bed flat with riverside views – who wants to rent the Houses of Parliament?</a> </p><p> <span>Related: </span><a href="http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2015/mar/02/john-bercow-westminster-renovation-parliament-leave">MPs could be forced to 'abandon' crumbling Westminster, Speaker warns</a> </p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/mar/03/sell-westminster-mps-billions-palace-parliament">Continue reading...</a>House of CommonsHouse of LordsPoliticsHeritageCultureUK newsJohn BercowTue, 03 Mar 2015 15:49:24 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/mar/03/sell-westminster-mps-billions-palace-parliamentPhotograph: Tim Ireland/PAThe palace of Westminster should be sold to a luxury hotel chain. With its wonderful location, views and historical associations, it will be possible to flog it for billions and the new owners can pick up the tab for fixing the plumbing.Photograph: Tim Ireland/PAThe palace of Westminster should be sold to a luxury hotel chain. With its wonderful location, views and historical associations, it will be possible to flog it for billions and the new owners can pick up the tab for fixing the plumbing.Stephen Moss2015-03-03T15:49:24ZThe people who could've prevented Tamir Rice's death are the Cleveland policehttp://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/mar/03/tamir-rice-death-could-have-been-prevented
<p>Being a young black male made Rice a target of the police from the day he was born </p><p>Only in the flawed, racist, American justice system, could a black 12-year-old boy with a toy gun be blamed for his failure to prevent his own death.</p><p>But there wasn’t anything that Tamir Rice could have done to eliminate the possibility that he would die at the hands of a cop: there is a limit to how careful you can be when you live in a society designed to criminalize you. Rice’s identity as a young black male made him a potential police target from the day he was born. In the eyes of the justice system, which arrests, incarcerates, and executes black men and women at disproportionate rates compared to other races, he was always guilty of being a boy with dark skin. His punishment was just yet to be determined.</p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/mar/03/tamir-rice-death-could-have-been-prevented">Continue reading...</a>Race issuesPoliceGun crimeTue, 03 Mar 2015 15:45:01 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/mar/03/tamir-rice-death-could-have-been-preventedPhotograph: DAVID MAXWELL/EPANo child should be killed by the police for playing with a toy.Photograph: DAVID MAXWELL/EPANo child should be killed by the police for playing with a toy.Keziyah Lewis2015-03-03T15:45:01ZHow long should a severely disabled child wait for housing? | Stacie Lewishttp://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/mar/03/severely-disabled-child-housing-leukaemia
I have leukaemia and my five-year-old daughter is disabled but we’ve been waiting two years for appropriate accommodation. We’re apparently not a priority – and we’re not alone<p>A mother with leukaemia. A five-year old daughter so disabled she can’t even throw an arm around the shoulders of someone carrying her up the stairs to her flat. Over two years on the housing register and no chance of even being shortlisted for a property. This is the reality of being disabled and living in housing completely inadequate for your needs.</p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/mar/03/severely-disabled-child-housing-leukaemia">Continue reading...</a>DisabilitySocial housingSocietyHousingCommunitiesCancerHealthUK newsTue, 03 Mar 2015 14:52:10 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/mar/03/severely-disabled-child-housing-leukaemiaPhotograph: John GoodmanStacie Lewis with her daughter May. Photograph: John GoodmanPhotograph: John GoodmanStacie Lewis with her daughter May. Photograph: John GoodmanStacie Lewis2015-03-03T14:52:10ZIndian women found their voice after the Delhi rape. Could this film help silence them again? | Nilanjana S Royhttp://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/mar/03/indian-women-delhi-rape-film-rapist-indias-daughter
By giving a rapist a platform to justify his terrible crime, India’s Daughter risks reinforcing the views that have normalised violence against women<p>It was at a campus protest in March 2013 that I heard that <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/mar/11/apparent-suicide-delhi-rape-accused-security-lapse" title="">Ram Singh had been found hanged</a> in Delhi’s Tihar jail.</p><p>All through that winter, women and men had been out on the city’s streets, marching and organising in search of an elusive justice and equality. The city had been in a state of seething unrest since 29 December 2012, when Jyoti Singh, a medical student in her 20s, died of terrible injuries inflicted on her by a group of men who raped and tortured her on a bus. Ram Singh was one of those men.</p><p>In this, there is a very real risk of turning a rapist into the Twitter celebrity of the day</p><p> <span>Related: </span><a href="http://www.theguardian.com/film/2015/mar/01/indias-daughter-documentary-rape-delhi-women-indian-men-attitudes">India’s Daughter: ‘I made a film on rape in India. Men’s brutal attitudes truly shocked me’</a> </p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/mar/03/indian-women-delhi-rape-film-rapist-indias-daughter">Continue reading...</a>RapeIndiaWorld newsWomenTue, 03 Mar 2015 14:35:37 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/mar/03/indian-women-delhi-rape-film-rapist-indias-daughterPhotograph: Mahesh Kumar A./ASSOCIATED PRESSAn Indian student displays a 'No rape' message painted on her hands during a demonstration in New Delhi. 'The focus on Mukesh Singh is dangerous, as it silences the thousands of women, transgender activists and male allies who spoke up in the aftermath of the rape.' Photograph: Mahesh Kumar/APPhotograph: Mahesh Kumar A./ASSOCIATED PRESSAn Indian student displays a 'No rape' message painted on her hands during a demonstration in New Delhi. 'The focus on Mukesh Singh is dangerous, as it silences the thousands of women, transgender activists and male allies who spoke up in the aftermath of the rape.' Photograph: Mahesh Kumar/APNilanjana S Roy2015-03-03T14:35:37ZBritain can be at the heart of a torture-free Europe | Thorbjørn Jaglandhttp://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/mar/03/torture-free-europe-police-prison-brutality-uk-scrutiny
For 25 years the Council of Europe has been fighting torture. As its head, I urge all our states to commit to erasing police and prison brutality<p>In an Austrian prison 25 years ago, a team of foreign monitors heard repeatedly from prisoners who had been beaten in police custody. Over an eight-day period, serious abuse was exposed in a country where few had imagined it. Protections were subsequently put in place – and <a href="http://www.cpt.coe.int/en/about.htm" title="">Europe’s anti-torture committee</a> was born.</p><p>You haven’t heard of them. And yet they can walk into any prison, police station, psychiatric ward or immigration detention centre at a moment’s notice. Their interventions have helped stop degrading practices across the continent. Immigrants chained to metal hooks on the floor. Prisoners kept underground for months pre-trial, with no access to natural light and no idea whether it is night or day. As recently as 2008, a visit to a police station in Northern Ireland found evidence of police tying distraught individuals, naked, to their chairs, apparently to prevent self-harm – a practice we insisted must stop.</p><p> <span>Related: </span><a href="http://www.theguardian.com/society/2014/may/12/islamic-radicalisation-significant-threat-prisons">Islamic radicalisation a 'significant threat in prisons'</a> </p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/mar/03/torture-free-europe-police-prison-brutality-uk-scrutiny">Continue reading...</a>TortureCouncil of EuropeHuman rightsPrisons and probationEuropeLawPoliceSocietyUK newsTue, 03 Mar 2015 13:07:47 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/mar/03/torture-free-europe-police-prison-brutality-uk-scrutinyPhotograph: /Gary Calton'For the sake of our shared values and collective security, we must guarantee basic human rights for anyone in state detention.' Photograph: Gary CaltonPhotograph: /Gary Calton'For the sake of our shared values and collective security, we must guarantee basic human rights for anyone in state detention.' Photograph: Gary CaltonThorbjørn Jagland2015-03-03T13:07:47ZAre all atheists simply angry, or just the ones to whom you're listening? | Oliver Burkemanhttp://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/oliver-burkeman-column/2015/mar/03/are-atheists-all-angry
<p>Science suggests that atheists are no more prone to anger than people of faith – but everyone believes that they are</p><p>Why are atheists so angry? The question – regularly flung around in debates about religion – is a self-fulfilling one, since atheists get pretty irritated whenever they’re asked it. But it’s revealing, too, because it pinpoints a surprising zone of agreement between believers and non-believers: many on both sides accept the premise that atheists are angrier than average. </p><p>Naturally, their reasoning differs. Evangelical Christians sometimes assert that atheists <a href="http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2014/08/kevin-sorbo-atheists-are-angry-because-they-secretly-know-god-exists-and-is-judging-them/">secretly believe in God</a> and fear he’s judging them; atheists retort that religion gives them <a href="http://gretachristina.typepad.com/greta_christinas_weblog/2007/10/atheists-and-an.html">plenty of things to be angry about</a>. Either way, it’s difficult to examine <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/08/09/richard-dawkins-anti-muslim-tweets_n_3732678.html">Richard Dawkins’s Twitter feed</a> (to pick the most unfairly obvious example) and fail to conclude that tetchiness and faithlessness go hand in hand.</p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/oliver-burkeman-column/2015/mar/03/are-atheists-all-angry">Continue reading...</a>AtheismReligionPsychologyTue, 03 Mar 2015 12:53:14 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/oliver-burkeman-column/2015/mar/03/are-atheists-all-angryPhotograph: Geraint Lewis/REXIs Ricahrd Dawkins angry, or really, really pleased?Photograph: Geraint Lewis/REXIs Ricahrd Dawkins angry, or really, really pleased?Oliver Burkeman2015-03-03T12:53:14ZStudents need to learn about sexual assault and consent long before collegehttp://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/mar/03/sexual-assault-high-school-consent-rape-college
<p>There is too much misinformation and confusion about rape. That is why we should be teaching consent in high school<br></p><p>There are some essential life skills that high schools know they have to teach students. That’s why most offer classes like woodshop, home economics and drivers education. So I have to ask: Given that we’re keen to teach teenagers the basics they need to function in society, why do we still have no mandated education around rape?</p><p>Expecting high schoolers to fully grasp what sexual assault is without comprehensive education is ridiculous. <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rape_and_pregnancy_controversies_in_United_States_elections,_2012">Politicians still</a> routinely demonstrate their ignorance around rape, the FBI only changed its outdated definition of sexual assault <a href="http://feministing.com/2011/10/20/update-fbi-changes-official-definition-of-rape/">in 2011</a>, and even the courts regularly <a href="http://rhrealitycheck.org/article/2012/10/04/why-forcible-rape-still-matters/">muck up rape cases</a>. <br /></p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/mar/03/sexual-assault-high-school-consent-rape-college">Continue reading...</a>RapeSexualityHealthLawHigher educationSex educationSchoolsTue, 03 Mar 2015 12:30:05 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/mar/03/sexual-assault-high-school-consent-rape-collegePhotograph: Kevin Dooley/Kevin Dooley/Flickr Creative CommonsA large proportion of sexual assault victims are below the age of 18.Jessica Valenti2015-03-03T12:30:05ZEvery time extreme cold claims a life, we have failed the homelesshttp://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/mar/03/every-time-winters-extreme-cold-claims-a-life-we-have-failed-the-homeless
<p>Severe winter weather is predictable. Governments need to take responsibility for the poor and homeless dying on their streets</p><p>For many, cold winter winds may mean donning warm winter garb or snuggling up by a fire on a comfortable sofa. For those who are homeless or precariously housed it’s often a time to prepare for the ultimate survival test – staying alive.</p><p>But staying alive in the cold isn’t easy. A number of places in the United States battered by the harsh winter have reported hypothermia related deaths of people living in abandoned buildings and on the streets. Last month in Memphis, Tennessee a <a href="http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/local/story/2015/feb/18/six-people-killed-during-winter-weather-tennessee/288986/">homeless man froze to death</a> just hours after he was turned away from a local shelter, and a <a href="http://www.riverheadlocal.com/2015/02/20/death-homeless-man-greenport-spotlights-crisis-many-without-shelter-bitter-cold-winter-weather/">homeless man in Greenport, New York</a> met a similar fate trying to survive in an uninsulated garage he’d converted into a temporary home . This January in Toronto, Canada’s largest city, <a href="http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/deaths-of-2-men-during-cold-snap-prompt-call-for-action-1.2891428">two homeless men died</a> on cold winter nights. Both men had sought refuge in the only shelter they could find: a bus stop and an abandoned truck.</p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/mar/03/every-time-winters-extreme-cold-claims-a-life-we-have-failed-the-homeless">Continue reading...</a>HomelessnessPovertyWinterHousingSocietySocial exclusionTue, 03 Mar 2015 12:15:05 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/mar/03/every-time-winters-extreme-cold-claims-a-life-we-have-failed-the-homelessPhotograph: Win McNamee/Getty ImagesDonnie Prince, who is homeless, tries to stay warm on top of a steam grate outside the Federal Trade Commission in Washington DC.Photograph: Win McNamee/Getty ImagesDonnie Prince, who is homeless, tries to stay warm on top of a steam grate outside the Federal Trade Commission in Washington DC.Leilani Farha2015-03-03T12:15:05ZTougher punishments for texting while driving won’t work | Mark Whiteheadhttp://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/mar/03/tougher-punishments-texting-driving-mobiles
Mobiles are so deeply embedded in our social and work habits that not using them means a fundamental change in behaviour<p>Gloucestershire’s chief constable was right to call for tougher punishments for <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-gloucestershire-31682145" title="">drivers repeatedly caught using their mobile phones</a>. Driving while using your phone creates serious risks that justify stringent state intervention – even so far as banning drivers. However, in the long term, it is clear that Suzette Davenport’s suggestion of more severe penalties is not the only, or indeed the most effective, strategy.</p><p>The argument for increasing penalties as a basis for changing people’s behaviour is, in part, based on the assumption that at the time of behaving antisocially (whether that be speeding in your car or drinking in an alcohol-free zone) people are fully aware of the potential punitive consequences and calculate accordingly.</p><p>Enforcing the use of seat belts was easy to the extent that it only involved a slight change in how we behave in cars</p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/mar/03/tougher-punishments-texting-driving-mobiles">Continue reading...</a>Mobile phonesTelecomsTechnologyLawMotoringCrimeUK newsPoliceTue, 03 Mar 2015 12:06:31 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/mar/03/tougher-punishments-texting-driving-mobilesPhotograph: Lm Otero/AP‘The lawmaker has to figure out the optimum point at which the costs of a penalty outweigh the rewards of such behaviour – is the thrill of driving fast worth losing your licence, for instance?' Photograph: Lm Otero/APPhotograph: Lm Otero/AP‘The lawmaker has to figure out the optimum point at which the costs of a penalty outweigh the rewards of such behaviour – is the thrill of driving fast worth losing your licence, for instance?' Photograph: Lm Otero/APMark Whitehead2015-03-03T12:06:31ZBen Jennings on Cameron's housing pledge – cartoonhttp://www.theguardian.com/society/commentisfree/picture/2015/mar/03/ben-jennings-david-camerons-housing-pledge-cartoon
<p>David Cameron has pledged to build 200,000 cut-price new homes in England to be sold to young first-time buyers, while lifting the obligation on developers to provide affordable housing</p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/society/commentisfree/picture/2015/mar/03/ben-jennings-david-camerons-housing-pledge-cartoon">Continue reading...</a>HousingSocial housingDavid CameronPoliticsUK newsPropertyMoneyHousing marketSocietyCommunitiesTue, 03 Mar 2015 11:59:05 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/society/commentisfree/picture/2015/mar/03/ben-jennings-david-camerons-housing-pledge-cartoonPhotograph: Ben JenningsPhotograph: Ben JenningsBen Jennings2015-03-03T11:59:05ZWhy Britain should have an ambassador for the Arctic | Ben Saundershttp://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/mar/03/why-britain-ambassador-arctic
This isn’t some kind of empire throwback: having a voice in the land-grab going on between world powers in the north would be a prudent step for the UK<p>Deep in a Lords select committee report published last week, at the 390th bullet point, was a recommendation that the UK should be more active in Arctic affairs. The committee recommended that “the government should follow the example of others in appointing <a href="http://geographical.co.uk/nature/polar/item/856-arctic-ambassador-advised-for-uk" title="">a UK ambassador for the Arctic</a>.”</p><p>The suggestion might seem ludicrous to many, a throwback to the days of Edwardian colonialism and earlier, more foolhardy British ventures in the far-off, frozen north. The discovery last autumn of Franklin’s shipwrecked <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/science/2014/nov/02/secrets-of-john-franklins-doomed-voyage-north-west-passage" title="">HMS Erebus</a>, and the excavation a few years earlier of the cannibalised bones of his crew should have seemed portentous enough.</p><p>‘The Shetland Isles are closer to the Arctic Circle than London is to Edinburgh'</p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/mar/03/why-britain-ambassador-arctic">Continue reading...</a>ArcticWorld newsUK newsRussiaHouse of LordsPoliticsTue, 03 Mar 2015 10:56:16 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/mar/03/why-britain-ambassador-arcticPhotograph: Frans Lanting/CorbisCalving of the Monaco Glacier on Spitsbergen.Photograph: Frans Lanting/CorbisCalving of the Monaco Glacier on Spitsbergen.Photograph: Justin Hofman/Barcroft Media‘‘Canada’s new government understands that the first principle of Arctic sovereignty is use it or lose it,' says Stephen Harper, the Canadian prime minister Photograph: Justin Hofman/Barcroft MediaPhotograph: Justin Hofman/Barcroft Media‘‘Canada’s new government understands that the first principle of Arctic sovereignty is use it or lose it,' says Stephen Harper, the Canadian prime minister Photograph: Justin Hofman/Barcroft MediaBen Saunders2015-03-03T10:56:16Z